The Best Golf Courses in Australia
Australia holds some of the greatest golf on earth, from Alister MacKenzie's masterworks on the Melbourne Sandbelt to the wild new links of Tasmania and King Island. Our ranked eight, with verdicts and how to play them.
How we ranked them
No country outside Britain and the United States can match Australia at the very top. The Melbourne Sandbelt, a band of free draining sandy soil southeast of the city, produced a cluster of MacKenzie era courses that rank among the finest in the world, firm and fast with the most celebrated bunkering anywhere. In the last two decades Tasmania and King Island have added a run of raw coastal links that turned the country into a genuine pilgrimage. We weighed the quality and conditioning of the golf, the strength of the setting, how a visiting group can get on, and the pedigree of the design.
Every fact here, the designers, the opening years and the access, was checked at the time of writing in June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Several of the very best are private member clubs that welcome overseas visitors by prior arrangement, usually on weekdays and often with a member or an accredited tour operator, while the Tasmanian links are fully public. The verdicts are ours. If your group wants any of these built into a costed itinerary, with the introductions, the flights and the transfers secured, that is exactly what our concierge does.
The 8 best golf courses in Australia
Royal Melbourne, West Course
The greatest course in the southern hemisphere and a fixture in every credible world top ten, Alister MacKenzie's 1931 West Course is the definitive expression of Sandbelt golf, firm and fast over sandy ground with the most admired bunkering on the planet. For tournaments the club fields a Composite Course drawing the best holes of the West and East, but the West alone is reason enough to fly across the world. The clear number one in Australia.
Kingston Heath
Routed by Australian professional Dan Soutar on a tight, sandy site and given its peerless bunkering by Alister MacKenzie in 1926, Kingston Heath is, for many good judges, the best conditioned and most subtle course in the country. Compact and walkable with a run of world class par 3s and 4s, it pushes Royal Melbourne hard and has long sat second on the Australian list. A Sandbelt essential.
Barnbougle Dunes
The course that announced Tasmania to the golf world, a Tom Doak and Mike Clayton links tumbling through giant dunes along the Bass Strait coast near Bridport. Raw, windswept and fully public, it brought true seaside golf of the highest order to the southern hemisphere and remains a bucket list round. Paired with its sibling Lost Farm, it makes Barnbougle a destination in its own right.
Cape Wickham Links
Perched on the remote northern tip of King Island in the Bass Strait, Cape Wickham is one of the most spectacular sites in golf, a co design by Mike DeVries and Darius Oliver where the ocean is in play across much of the round and the closing hole runs along a crescent beach. Hard to reach and utterly worth it, it rocketed into the world rankings on opening. A genuine pilgrimage.
New South Wales Golf Club
MacKenzie's clifftop course above Botany Bay on the headlands at La Perouse, where Captain Cook first landed, is the most dramatic golf in Sydney, with holes climbing over rock and exposed to the wind off the Tasman Sea. A private club that welcomes visitors by arrangement, it is the natural Sydney round on any east coast tour and a fine complement to the Melbourne Sandbelt.
Royal Melbourne, East Course
The lesser known half of the Royal Melbourne estate, Alex Russell's East Course would be the headline act almost anywhere else. Several of its holes are folded into the famous Composite Course, and on its own it is a superb, slightly gentler Sandbelt test that lets a visiting group play both great courses at the one club. A privilege rather than a consolation.
Barnbougle Lost Farm
The second course at Barnbougle, a Bill Coore design on higher, even larger dunes than the original, with twenty greens and sweeping views over the river mouth and the sea. Many visitors leave preferring it to the Dunes, which says everything about the standard. Public and walkable, it completes one of the great two course links resorts anywhere.
St Andrews Beach
A Tom Doak links on the sandy Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne, rugged and minimalist over big dunes, and the rare top tier Australian course that anyone can simply book and play. A natural pairing with a Sandbelt trip or a Tasmanian leg, it offers honest, firm, windswept golf at a fraction of the fuss. The pick of the publicly accessible mainland links.
Designers and opening years verified June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. The Sandbelt clubs are private and arrange visitor play by prior contact, usually on weekdays, while the Tasmanian and King Island links are open to the public. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking.
Where they are, and indicative costs
Australian golf has two centres of gravity. Melbourne is the heart of it, with the Sandbelt clubs, Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath and their peers, packed into the city's southeastern suburbs within easy reach of each other, and St Andrews Beach an hour south on the Mornington Peninsula. The second hub is Tasmania and King Island, reached by short flights from Melbourne, where Barnbougle and Cape Wickham deliver world class public links. Sydney adds New South Wales Golf Club on the coast. Most serious trips base in Melbourne for the Sandbelt, then fly to Tasmania for the links.
| Item | Indicative 2026 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sandbelt private clubs | Visitor play by arrangement | Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath and peers, usually weekdays, often via a member or operator |
| Tasmanian and King Island links | Around A$150 to A$300 | Barnbougle and Cape Wickham, public, varies by season |
| A two week tour, all in | Around A$8,000 to A$15,000 per person | Lodging, domestic flights, several rounds, transfers, excluding international flights |
Indicative third party figures for the 2026 season, shown to set expectations only. We are a guide, not an operator, and never quote our own pricing. Always confirm directly before booking.
Plan your Australia golf trip
Tell us the courses you want and roughly when. One concierge costs the whole trip to the head, secures the resort and replies within one working day, with no obligation.
Australia golf questions
What is the best golf course in Australia?
Royal Melbourne's West Course, Alister MacKenzie's 1931 masterpiece on the Melbourne Sandbelt, is the clear number one and ranks among the very best courses in the world. Kingston Heath, Barnbougle Dunes and Cape Wickham complete the top of the list. Our ranking weighs the golf, the setting and the ease of access together.
Can visitors play the Melbourne Sandbelt courses?
Yes, with planning. Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath and the other Sandbelt clubs are private members courses that welcome overseas visitors by prior arrangement, usually on weekdays and often through a member or an accredited golf tour operator. The Tasmanian and King Island links, by contrast, are fully public and can be booked directly. Always arrange Sandbelt access well ahead and confirm directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf in Australia?
The southern spring and autumn, roughly September to November and March to May, give the best balance for Melbourne, Tasmania and Sydney, with mild days and firm turf. The summer from December to February is warm and long in daylight but can be hot and windy, while winter golf is playable in Melbourne if cool. The Sandbelt is at its firm, fast best in the warmer months. Always confirm conditions before you travel.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Sandbelt and Tasmanian golf, the best southern hemisphere tee times and where to play next. Every other week.